# How did Bo and Luke Duke make a living? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 22, 2015, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722 "2015-03-22T23:25:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/21 "2015-03-23T13:47:36Z")
They ever say what happened to their parents? ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/22 "2015-03-23T14:15:17Z")
The show’s creator said their parents were killed in a car crash, but it was never discussed on the show. I guess that means Daisy’s parents were in the same car with Bo and Luke’s parents. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/23 "2015-03-23T15:05:18Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Weren’t they also basically dirt farmers? There were always chickens running around, so they probably made some money off of that. Uncle Jesse had a mule, which implies farming. > [@Robert163](#): > > I think I may of also seen a goat in one episode The goat was strictly for recreational purposes. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/24 "2015-03-23T15:10:33Z")
But the goat was on loan from Hal Briston. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/25 "2015-03-23T15:26:11Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > The show’s creator said their parents were killed in a car crash, but it was never discussed on the show. Hopefully not hit by a speeding '69 Charger. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/26 "2015-03-23T15:51:06Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > The show’s creator said their parents were killed in a car crash, but it was never discussed on the show. > > I guess that means Daisy’s parents were in the same car with Bo and Luke’s parents. 😕 Was Daisy not Jesse’s daughter? Or did she call him Uncle, too? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/27 "2015-03-23T16:31:31Z")
None of them were siblings, so apparently their parents were all in the same car. Jesse must have been babysitting the lot of them when the car crashed. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/28 "2015-03-23T17:50:13Z")
Whatever their line of work, it obviously didn’t pay enough for wardrobe. Of course, they wouldn’t change if they could. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/29 "2015-03-23T19:33:13Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Wouldn’t their customers get all wet? Just the women. I assumed they were all on Welfare. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/30 "2015-03-23T19:51:44Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > Ahhh… well that explains alot!! [Alot not say anything?](http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/31 "2015-03-23T20:05:30Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Not much of a market for alien milk in Georgia. Was the state Hazzard County is in ever actually specified? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/32 "2015-03-23T20:19:43Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Was the state Hazzard County is in ever actually specified? The second episode puts Hazzard close enough to Atlanta for Daisy to drive there in a few hours. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/33 "2015-03-23T20:26:27Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > They were booze runners. I was also under the impression that Boss Hogg was in the business of the same, and the reason he disliked them was that they were usually competitors and would not work exclusively for Boss Hogg. Yep, IIRC that was a plot point in [_Moonrunners_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonrunners), which was movie created by Gy Waldron, before he made DoH. It’s worth watching if you liked DoH. It even has Waylon Jennings narrating it, and many of the same characters (but different actors for the most part.) Ben Jones is in Moonrunners but not as Cooter. ETA I think I remember Bo and Luke doing farm work and odd jobs for Hazzard County residents. IIRC it gave them a chance to show the boys with their shirts off. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/34 "2015-03-23T20:36:31Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > In the TV show the boys couldn’t carry guns because they were on probation for carrying moonshine. (They used a bow and arrows instead.) So they at least had previous in that regard. The terms of their probation appeared to be rather elastic, and varied from week to week as the plot required. Hazard County appeared to be a corner of Georgia where you never saw a black person. Not one. Where did they hide them? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/35 "2015-03-23T20:40:35Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > Hazard County appeared to be a corner of Georgia where you never saw a black person. Not one. Where did they hide them? Over in Chickasaw County. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/36 "2015-03-23T20:41:04Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > Hazard County appeared to be a corner of Georgia where you never saw a black person. Not one. Where did they hide them? In Mayberry . . . no, wait . . . ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/37 "2015-03-24T00:35:11Z")
I am embarrassed to say I know this much about The Dukes Of Hazzard…but when I was in high school, I thought it was awesome. Anyway…Bo and Luke worked with Uncle Jesse on the farm. And when Tom Wopat and John Schneider left the show for a while on a contract dispute, Bo and Luke went off to race NASCAR. Uncle Jesse and Boss Hogg used to be partners running moonshine. Uncle Jesse was known far and wide for the quality of his recipe, and when Boss Hogg started getting power hungry, he and Jesse had a falling out and Boss had him arrested for running an illegal still and Bo and Luke for running shine. The whole Duke family would have been behind bars if Uncle Jesse hadn’t struck a deal with the US government to never run a still again as long as Bo and Luke stayed out of jail. So the Dukes had always had a farm, and that became their source of income. I wonder what I’d have room for in my head if I didn’t have this stuff in there… ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/38 "2015-03-24T01:15:43Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#): > > I am embarrassed to say I know this much about The Dukes Of Hazzard…but when I was in high school, I thought it was awesome. Anyway…Bo and Luke worked with Uncle Jesse on the farm. And when Tom Wopat and John Schneider left the show for a while on a contract dispute, Bo and Luke went off to race NASCAR. Uncle Jesse and Boss Hogg used to be partners running moonshine. Uncle Jesse was known far and wide for the quality of his recipe, and when Boss Hogg started getting power hungry, he and Jesse had a falling out and Boss had him arrested for running an illegal still and Bo and Luke for running shine. The whole Duke family would have been behind bars if Uncle Jesse hadn’t struck a deal with the US government to never run a still again as long as Bo and Luke stayed out of jail. So the Dukes had always had a farm, and that became their source of income. I wonder what I’d have room for in my head if I didn’t have this stuff in there… thanks for the info. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/39 "2015-03-24T01:19:38Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#): > > I wonder what I’d have room for in my head if I didn’t have this stuff in there… I heard telephones, opera house, favorite melodies I saw boys, toys, electric irons and T.V.'s My brain hurt like a warehouse, it had no room to spare I had to cram so many things to store everything in there And all the fat-skinny people, and all the tall-short people And all the nobody people, and all the somebody people I never thought I’d need so many people From Five Years, by David Bowie [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYwpnG-rkHI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYwpnG-rkHI) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/40 "2015-03-24T01:43:32Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#): > > I am embarrassed to say I know this much about The Dukes Of Hazzard…but when I was in high school, I thought it was awesome. Anyway…Bo and Luke worked with Uncle Jesse on the farm. And when Tom Wopat and John Schneider left the show for a while on a contract dispute, Bo and Luke went off to race NASCAR. Uncle Jesse and Boss Hogg used to be partners running moonshine. Uncle Jesse was known far and wide for the quality of his recipe, and when Boss Hogg started getting power hungry, he and Jesse had a falling out and Boss had him arrested for running an illegal still and Bo and Luke for running shine. The whole Duke family would have been behind bars if Uncle Jesse hadn’t struck a deal with the US government to never run a still again as long as Bo and Luke stayed out of jail. So the Dukes had always had a farm, and that became their source of income. I wonder what I’d have room for in my head if I didn’t have this stuff in there… Srsly, this is a truly awesome post. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722.md?page=3)